24 • MED AD NEWS APRIL 2016
categoryone – agencies with income of more than $50 million

added to the agency’s current portfolio of
CF brands as was a game-changing yet-to-be-launched antiviral for hepatitis.
Late in the year, a current client assigned
(without a pitch) DTC responsibilities for
a dermatology brand that will launch in
2017, executives say.

And according to AbelsonTaylor
leaders, in addition to new brands, the
agency was successful in winning incremental business on existing brands.
DTC responsibilities were shifted to
AbelsonTaylor for an important neurology brand, and digital responsibilities were moved to the agency for a billion-dollar GI brand.

During the year, Abelson Taylor helped
clients launch four new brands and three
new indications for existing brands.
Launches are the most exciting part of
the agency/client relationship, according to Abelson Taylor leaders. “They are
where all the strategy, planning, message
development, regulatory approvals, media planning and creative development
come together to bring important new
products that improve peoples’ lives onto
the market,” executives say.

Creative awards (and executives say
they do matter) continued to roll in. The
agency won 19 creative awards in 2015
including Best Patient App, Best Branded Website, Best Digital Campaign, Best
Consumer Print Ad, Best DTC TV Spot
and Best Integrated Campaign.

The account service side of the business
took on a new look early in 2015 as the
agency implemented a project management structure in parallel with strategy
and client engagement group. The dual
goals of increased efficiency and speed
of job completion are already being
achieved. Throughput time has been reduced and write-offs are down.

2016 will see the launch of Nutrient, a
new concept of “adsultancy” focused on
non-pharma wellness brands. Staffed
by planners, senior creative, and experienced healthcare brand strategists,
Nutrient’s goal is to mine brand insights
using a proprietary methodology and deliver creative concepts and a brand strategy for a fixed fee.

The agency’s stand-alone visualization
subsidiary, Dose, also had an amazing
year, with solid double-digit revenue
growth for agency clients and companies
outside the AbelsonTaylor’s roster. Incremental revenue to the agency and significant cost savings resulting from less
use of outside suppliers were seen.

The agency created a separate Experience Design group this year, consolidating UXD specialists into a central group
to use their talents more efficiently.

While senior management has remained essentially unchanged for
years, four new vice presidents, two on
the creative side and two on the account
side, were appointed during the year.
Overall, 47 staffers were promoted
during the year.

The expansion of business in 2015 seemssure to continue in 2016. The agency isalready planning work on 15 new cam-paigns, 15 new digital programs, and sixnew brand launches. And pitch requestskeep coming in, executives say. As inthe past few years, the agency is turningdown more pitches than it accepts.According to its leaders, AbelsonTay-lor, while growing dramatically, hasstayed true to its roots. “One of the onlyagencies that never felt a need to rebranditself (although it did remove the hyphenbetween the founders’ names about adecade ago), its goals, mission and struc-ture are largely unchanged,” execs say.Eleven years ago, CEO Taylor beganthe process of selling stock to key em-ployees. A substantial portion of theagency is now owned by 14 employeeswhose tenure ranges from 10 to 30 years.Some started their careers with theagency while others were brought intoownership after only a few years there.“Ownership aligns everyone’s goals withwhat is best for the agency, its clients andemployees in the long term,” Taylor says.

AbelsonTaylor’s dedication to independence remains firm. The employ-ee-owned agency has for 35 years charted its own course and focused on what
is best for its clients, its brands, and its
staff. “So far, it seems to be working pretty well,” executives say.

Abelson Taylor takes social responsibilityvery seriously, executives say. Its effortsare driven by the HeartsATWork team.In the past year this initiative partneredwith 14 nonprofit organizations to fulfillthe simple objective of providing Abel-son Taylor employees with opportunitiesto participate in a giving-back program,thereby reminding them that what theydo makes a difference: to a child, patient,family, or a neighborhood. The agencywas awarded a “Metal of Honor” awardby Ronald McDonald House of Charitiesfor executing an internal campaign thatmotivated its employees to collect nearly
52,000 pop tabs in about three months,which were recycled to raise funds toprovide lodging and comfort for fami-lies so they can be near their hospitalizedchildren. And 30 years of “Free LunchFridays” has resulted in the contributionof hundreds of thousands of dollars tothe Chicago Food Depository. HeartsAT-Work partnered with Urban Initiativesby sending more than 30 employees toa local Chicago school and sponsoringa series of half-day sports and nutritioncamps. Volunteers served meals to thehomeless through its partnership withChicago Help Initiative. The agency hasan ongoing partnership with La RabidaChildren’s Hospital and has provided probono branding and website developmentfor this center dedicated to the treatmentof chronic illness, developmental disabil-ity, trauma and abuse in children.

Through its longtime partner Heifer International, the agency is a major
funder of a program that benefits families in Tanzania through the East African
Dairy Development Program. medadnews